Bivalve aquaculture is often promoted as an environmentally sustainable protein source, but their capacity for pain and suffering deserves careful consideration.
The welfare status of bivalves is genuinely uncertain, though most neuroscientists believe their capacity for subjective suffering is very low or absent. The precautionary principle still encourages minimizing unnecessary harm. For those reducing animal product consumption, bivalves may represent a nutritious option with lower likely suffering than vertebrate animal products.